Let us turn to Proverbs 31. I would like to look at these first nine verses. We will go through them, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and try to understand what God is saying to us here. Proverbs 31:1-9 says:
The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Notice that this first verse starts out:
The words of king Lemuel…
And then it says:
…the prophecy that his mother taught him.
It does not say this anywhere in the Bible, but king Lemuel would certainly be Solomon. The book of Proverbs was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by Solomon. “Lemuel” means “all who are devoted to” or “belonging to God.” But notice that it says:
The words of king Lemuel…
And then it goes on to say:
…the prophecy that his mother taught him.
Notice also that it is referred to as “prophecy.”
Look back in Proverbs 30:1:
The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
What we read in Proverbs 30 and Proverbs 31 are simply different principles that we learn from the Word of God about His salvation. Many people are under the impression that to prophesy or that prophecy is telling the future. Certainly, the Bible does tell us about the future, but to prophesy simply means to declare the Word of God.
So we read here in Proverbs 31:1:
The words of king Lemuel…
They are king Lemuel’s words, but it is the prophecy “that his mother taught him.” So how are we to understand that it was his mother who has taught him these things?
Throughout the Bible, parents are commanded to teach their children these statutes and judgments of the Lord. In other words, they were to teach their children the Word of God, and that is what his mother was doing in Proverbs 31.
The Israelites were commanded this and Deuteronomy 4 is one place where we read about it. In Deuteronomy 4:5-6, we read:
Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as JEHOVAH my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
This is referring to the Israelites who were given the Word of God. The Israelites were that physical representation of the Kingdom of God on this earth.
Then Deuteronomy 4:7-9 says:
For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as JEHOVAH our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
He is commanding the Israelites to teach their children the Word of God, and this is in many other places in the Bible.
Certainly, this is what Solomon’s mother has done here. But I believe also that as we read of the king here, we are to see the Lord Jesus in this. I do not want to get in over my head, because this gets pretty deep, but we will just look at this.
Proverbs 31:2 says:
What, my son?…
So this is her son that she is speaking to and she says, “What?”:
…and what, the son of my womb?…
She repeats the word “what” here just for emphasis. It is an interrogative just for emphasis. So she is emphasizing what she is going to go on to say:
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb?…
This is emphasizing that he is her very son:
…and what, the son of my vows?
Now, what does this mean?
Turn back to 1 Samuel. The book of 1 Samuel opens up talking about a man named Elkanah who had two wives. One wife was Hannah and the name of the other wife was Peninnah. Peninnah had children by Elkanah but Hannah was barren. So Hannah prayed to the Lord that she could have a son, and the Lord finally granted her a son. But first, she vowed to the Lord in a prayer that we read about in 1 Samuel 1:9-11:
So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of JEHOVAH. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto JEHOVAH, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O JEHOVAH of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto JEHOVAH all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
She vowed a vow unto the Lord that if she could have a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord. Actually, this is a parable and we are to see Israel as a representation of the true believers praying that the “son” might be born who would be the Messiah. So this son would actually be a representation of the Messiah, because Samuel was a representation of Christ.
For most of the Old Testament, we read about how Israel was in bitterness. The Lord brought judgment on them. It did not look like the Messiah whom they were waiting and waiting on to come was going to come to bring deliverance over their enemies. Finally, the Lord Jesus did come and Israel was, in a sense, His “mother.”
So I believe that this is what we are to see here in Proverbs 31, that the “son” that is being spoken of here represents Christ and that He is certainly being taught here. We know that Christ is God. He never ceased to be God. He is all-knowing, but the Bible also speaks of how Christ grew “in wisdom and stature” and we read of how “yet learned he obedience” in Hebrews.
If we look at Luke 2:51, this is speaking of the Christ and the parents of Christ. It says in Luke 2:51-52:
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
How could it be said that “Jesus increased in wisdom”? Again, I do not want to get in over my head here, but I believe that the body of Christ is also part of Christ and we increase in wisdom and stature and knowledge as He teaches us through His Word. This is a pretty deep principle, but I believe that this is what we may be seeing here.
Let us go on in Proverbs 31. Proverbs 31:3-4 says:
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Let us look at verse 3. This word “give” can also have the sense of “to give up” or “to deliver.”
Give not thy strength unto women…
What does this mean? In many places in the Bible, especially in the Proverbs, God speaks of a “woman” as a representation of a false gospel.
Look at Proverbs 2:10-11. This is speaking of the wisdom of God:
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Now go to verse 16, Proverbs 2:16-22:
To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Or look at Proverbs 7. Often in the Proverbs we will read in the beginning of a chapter, “My son, do this” or “My son, do that.” We are all the “sons of God” and, in the first instance, He is speaking to us through His Word. Proverbs 7:1 says:
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
And Proverbs 7:4-5 says:
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
It goes on to speak of a harlot. Proverbs 7:6-9:
For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
Look at how God is emphasizing darkness here. This is speaking of a simple person, an unsaved person. It says in Proverbs 7:9:
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
He is still in the darkness of sin in this world.
Proverbs 7:10-11:
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
Then it goes on to say in Proverbs 7:13-14:
So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
It is as if she had been to church. This is a woman, a harlot, representing a false gospel.
Then she says in Proverbs 7:18-19:
Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
We are to see Christ in this, are we not?
Proverbs 7:20:
He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
Then Proverbs 7:21 says:
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
This word for “fair speech” is found back in Proverbs 4. Proverbs 4:1-2 says:
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine…
“Doctrine” is the same Hebrew word that was translated as “fair speech” in Proverbs 7:21.
So as we study these words and compare Scripture with Scripture, it opens up to us. With her doctrine, her “fair speech,” she entices an unsaved person into her false gospel. And these words are translated as “doctrine” in a couple of other verses in the Bible, but we will not look at them now.
But this is how God is using the woman here in Proverbs 31:3:
Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
Now in Proverbs 31:4, we read:
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
We know that all believers are spoken of as “kings” in the Bible. We will turn to just one place. Revelation 1:6 is speaking of Christ and it says:
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
And Proverbs 31:4 says:
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
This is a verse right here that would suggest to us that no true believer would want to drink alcohol. But God relates alcohol or “strong drink” or being drunk with false gospels, because He goes on in Proverbs 31:5 to say:
Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
“The afflicted” in this context are those whom God is bringing to salvation. And if a ruler or a teacher drinks and forgets the Law, the Law of God, “what is decreed” is actually what this word means, they “pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted,” and the judgment of the afflicted is really speaking of salvation. It is part of God’s judgment: His laws, His statues, His precepts. It is actually the Gospel. But if we drink or if we are drunk with false gospels, we pervert this judgment.
Isaiah 28 is one place where this is very obvious and where God relates drunkenness to false gospels. Isaiah 28:1-3 starts out:
Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
Then Isaiah 28:7 says:
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
They are bringing false gospels. They are teaching a gospel of works. They are turning the Israelites to Baal and perverting the Word of God. Again, this principle is in many places in the Bible where He likens false gospels to being drunk.
So back in Proverbs 31:4-5, He says:
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
Lest they pervert the true Gospel and God’s judgments.
But then in Proverbs 31:6-7, He says:
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Is this telling us that we are to give a bottle of bourbon to someone who is near death so that his pain might be deadened and that his misery would leave his mind? I do not think so.
These are the same words that are in Proverbs 31:4, “strong drink” and “wine.” I believe that God is turning it around now and He is likening the “strong drink” and the “wine” to a Gospel of judgment, which is what we are now bringing.
We are really leaning on the judgment aspect of the Gospel, because the world is ready to perish. God is coming. In His mercy He has shown us, through different ways, that Christ is coming in May of 2011. We cannot deny this because this locks in from different directions. Again, this is by the mercy of God. So we must bring this message of “strong drink” and “judgment.”
Let me show you a couple of places where He uses these words “wine” and “strong drink” in this context. Look at Numbers 28. This is describing how a certain offering is to be made. We read in Numbers 28:3-6:
And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto JEHOVAH…
We know that every offering that they made was in some way a picture of Christ suffering the wrath of God.
…two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even; And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil. It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto JEHOVAH.
And all of those sacrifices were a “sweet savour” unto God because He was pleased with what Christ did.
Then in Numbers 28:7, He says:
And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine…
This word is also translated as “strong drink.” It is the same Hebrew word that is translated as “strong drink” in Proverbs 31, but here it is part of an offering.
…in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto JEHOVAH for a drink offering.
“Wine” in the Bible speaks to the blood of Christ in the Atonement. This is speaking of the judgment of Christ. So here, “strong wine” is a good thing. It is used in a good context as He associates it with the Atonement.
In Deuteronomy 32, we read of the Song of Moses. This is speaking of the enemies of God, and it says in Deuteronomy 32:31-32:
For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom…
The vine is speaking of the grapes from which the wine is made.
Deuteronomy 32:32-33:
For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
The wine of the enemies of God, again, relates to false gospels.
Now turn to Genesis 49. This is when Jacob is blessing his sons. In Genesis 49:10, He is speaking of Judah. Certainly, Judah speaks of Christ because Christ was of the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10 says:
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
So this is speaking of Christ. Now, Genesis 49:11-12:
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
This is speaking of the blood in judgment here. It is relating judgment to what Christ would do, and also in that He suffered as His blood was shed in the Atonement.
So God uses it both ways here, wine and strong drink, and I am convinced that this is what He is doing in Proverbs 31:6. He is switching now and says:
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
In Psalm 146:4, we also find this same word for “perish.” Psalm 146:1-4:
Praise ye JEHOVAH. Praise JEHOVAH, O my soul. While I live will I praise JEHOVAH: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
This is speaking of the death of man. When he dies, that is it. There is nothing left.
Then in Proverbs 31:6, we read:
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish…
To someone who is close to death.
…and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
In 1 Samuel, we just read of Hannah being “in bitterness of soul” and these are really the same two Hebrew words. “Heavy hearts” literally means “bitter of soul.”
In many places, this phrase relates to being under the wrath of God. For example, in Job we know that Job was a picture of Christ and the Atonement as He was under the wrath of God. In Job 10, this is Job speaking, and he says in Job 10:1:
My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
These are the same two Hebrew words that were translated “heavy hearts” in Proverbs 31:6, which is speaking of someone who is under the wrath of God:
Give strong drink…
This is that Gospel that is speaking of impending judgment.
…unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
I am convinced that this is what this is saying, because it goes on to say in Proverbs 31:7:
Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
When we search out the words “poverty” and “misery” in the Bible, we find that they are related to those who are under the wrath of God.
Again, Proverbs 31:7:
Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
In other words, it may be that God will work through His Gospel and bring him to salvation. This is the context of this passage I believe, because He goes on in Proverbs 31:8 to say:
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
And who are the “dumb”? Again, they are those who are still under the wrath of God. They cannot sing the praises of God. They are “dumb,” as it were.
In Isaiah 35, we read about the “dumb.” Look at Isaiah 35. This is speaking of Christ in salvation. Isaiah 35:4-6 says:
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
We know that in Matthew 15, it speaks of Christ healing the deaf and the dumb and the lame and the blind, which is all relating to salvation.
And we are commanded here in Proverbs 31:8:
Open thy mouth for the dumb…
What does it mean to “open thy mouth”? Certainly, we know what this means. It means to bring the Gospel.
Look at Matthew 5. This is the Sermon on the Mount that we read about in Matthew 5. Speaking of Christ, we read in Matthew 5:1-3:
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit…
He is teaching them. He is bringing the Gospel.
Turn back to Proverbs 31 again. I am sure that many of us have heard the rest of this chapter expounded upon where it is speaking of the “virtuous woman” who is a picture of the body of believers, the Bride of Christ, and even Christ Himself. Proverbs 31:25-26 says:
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
This is speaking of the mercy of God, the Gospel.
So we read in Proverbs 31:8:
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
This is speaking of all of those who are still under the wrath of God whom God is bringing to salvation.
Turn to the book of Jonah. Certainly, we are all familiar with this passage. Jonah 3:1-2 says:
And the word of JEHOVAH came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. They were the enemies of the Israelites. They were threatening Israel. As a matter of fact, they did come and take the northern kingdom into captivity.
Jonah 3:3-4:
So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of JEHOVAH. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
There are only four Hebrew words here. It was a very short message. If Jonah preached anything else to them, we do not know because God does not tell us. This was a “strong drink.” They had forty days and their city was going to be overthrown; they were going to be destroyed. Yet we read that the people of Nineveh repented. Jonah was certainly bringing a “strong drink” unto those who were ready to perish. I believe that when the people of Nineveh repented, they were a picture of all of the true believers.
Proverbs 31:8-9:
Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Again, over and over in the Bible, we are commanded and encouraged to just keep bringing the Gospel. In Ecclesiastes 11:1, it starts out:
Cast thy bread upon the waters…
This means the same thing. We are to take the Gospel out into the whole world. It goes on to say that we do not know who is going to be saved or how God is going to work. We are to just bring the Gospel and God will save whom He will.
In Psalm 79:9-11, we read:
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
Again, speaking of those who are ready to perish, those who are appointed to destruction, as we are reading here in Proverbs 31.
God in His mercy is opening up the Word to sinners, to sinful wretches like us, and He is showing us that judgment is almost here. Therefore, He is commanding us to take this Word to the world.
In His mercy, it is still the “day of salvation” because the end has not yet come. So we can plead the cause of the poor and needy. We can supplicate to God for our loved ones who are still under the wrath of God.
So to “judge righteously” is speaking of the righteous judgments of God, His Gospel of salvation. Could it be that each one of us would have a heart to do this, to serve God by simply being a witness in whatever way that we can: by giving out tracts, by giving our wherewithal to a ministry that we consider faithful, or by simply being a good witness to our neighbor in the way that we live our lives because others are watching us in this world. There are many different ways that we can bring this Gospel and open our mouths for the dumb and for the cause of all such who are appointed to destruction.
Shall we pray. Heavenly Father, again, we come before You. Could it be as we have looked at these verses that all of us have seen Your Gospel of salvation and the terrible predicament of man in this world. We have all fallen short. We have all sinned in the loins of Adam. We all need a Saviour. Judgment is coming and we cannot stand before You in that judgment, except in the righteousness of Christ; so could we see this wherever we read in the Bible, this Book that You have given us. Again, could we come before You and pray for those around us, our loved ones and others who still have no fear of You, that You still may have mercy on many of these and that we simply might be used of You to take this Gospel, knowing that You will apply it to the hearts of those whom You have named and saved from before the foundation of the world. May we simply, with what time we have left here on earth, live to Your glory. May everything be to Your praise and to Your glory. We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Questions and Answers
Guy: Does anybody have any questions or comments?
1st Question: The “Scripture of the Week” from Family Radio is Psalm 9:17. But I am just wondering if the word “judgment” could be substituted with “annihilation”?
Guy: God uses this word a lot in several different ways. His “judgments” are the Word of God. God uses this word to speak of the punishment on the enemies of God that will come at the consummation.
But in Proverbs 31, you do not see this because there it is speaking of His perfect justice, where He says in Proverbs 31:9:
Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Kings who were judges were commanded to “judge righteously,” and God judges righteously in His salvation. I do not know if I can explain it any better than this, but He does use the word differently. “Judgment” has different meanings.
1st Question (continued): Could that word be interpreted as “annihilation” in Psalm 9:17?
Guy: Psalm 9:17 says:
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
1st Question (continued): Does that word “hell” mean annihilation?
Guy: Oh, certainly!
The wicked shall be turned into hell…
“Hell” is sheowl. “Hell” is the grave. Yes, they are dead. They are not going to be raised back to life. They are not going to be put somewhere and have an eternal existence where they are cursing and blaspheming God. God is not going to do that.
1st Question (continued): But “hell” has been interpreted a lot of different ways by a lot of different people over the centuries because of the way that people were taught. If we were to put a verse like this on our car, or something like that, and use the word “annihilation” instead of “hell,” it might make people rethink about what this word really means.
Guy: Yes, we could that. It is actually the word sheowl, which means “the pit” or “the grave.”
Psalm 37:9-10 says:
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon JEHOVAH, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
We just learned this recently and this is certainly all through the Bible. It makes much more sense and it also shows us the mercy of God.